Chapter 107 - Nap

"So where's Steven right now? Did you already kick him out?" Julius asked hoping that the answer would be no. That day was, Julius' lucky day.

"No we haven't yet. You've done quite a number on him so we'll have to wait until he recovers before we can actually kick him out. Along with that, we have to pay him severance since we're firing him and he's not jus quitting on his own," said Ozel.

"Great! Now I can add him to my collection," Julius said to himself.

"Are you sure he'll leave though? I mean it's still his first week back after leaving and he hasn't seen the members which he knew in the past," Julius asked as he tried to become understanding so that he doesn't present himself as a harsh person.

"I doubt he'll resist. After all, if we have you to personally defeat him and even if that fails, the grandmaster of the council of the strong will be summoned," Ozel explained.

"I've been meaning to ask, what is the grandmaster like? I've read a few books about him but they're all vague and none of them explain what he's really like and how powerful he is," Julius asked.

"Think of the grandmaster as just a higher being. He's a man who's managed to reach rank 20 in cultivation through meditation. Along with that, he has several shadow monster tier scrolls at his disposal. In truth, he can probably defeat king Henry. The only reason the grandmaster isn't considered the strongest is because he never chooses to display his strength," Jun stepped in and explained.

"So I basically have 5 grandmasters at my disposal?" Julius asked himself as he thought of Spike, Rosie, Liam, Steph and Ian.

"Wow, he's amazing! Being able to defeat the strongest person in the world isn't something that most can brag about," Julius lied.

"Anyway, is it okay for me to see how Steven is doing?" Julius asked.

"That's a weird question. Why would you want to see the man that was about to kill you? However, if you insist, we'll come with you for your own safety," said Ozel as he stood out of the chair that was beside Julius' bed.

"That's fine by me but you should be more worried about yourselves, I don't think that you would be able to handle his strength," Julius sarcastically bragged as he got out from the bed and grabbed his sheathed blade before walking out of the room first then returning after a few seconds.

…

"Where is his room again?" Julius asked which made Ozel and Jun laugh before they led the way towards Steven's room which he was resting in.

"Wow…" Julius said as he looked at Steven who had a lot more scars than he used to have previously, most likely because of the dual special trait that Julius had used along with the half glowing state.

"Be careful, he could wake up and attack you at any time," said Ozel as he sat down on a chair which was placed near the wall of the room. Beside him were 3 other empty chairs which Julius and Jun took 2 of, leaving 1 empty.

…

"So are you done examining him? It would be best to leave until he woke up on his own," said Ozel as he didn't want Julius to get hurt anymore.

"Don't worry about me guild master Ozel, I'll be fine here. I was hoping to stay here a bit longer. To be completely honest, I want to be here when he wakes up," Julius said with conviction in his voice which made Ozel sigh.

"I would've forced you to leave if you were anyone else since we've al seen what he's capable of. However, out of everyone in the whole guild, you're probably the only one who can stop him, so you know what, sure. You can stay here as long as you want. Jun and I will be going down stairs to get some drinks and head off to explore the kingdom," Ozel said as the two left the room. As Jun was leaving behind the guild master, he turned around to give Julius a serious wink.

"So he knows what I'm trying to do. I'm glad he doesn't oppose the idea," Julius thought to himself as he sat down and waited endlessly for Steven to wake up.

…

After almost a whole day of sitting in the room, something happened. It was the middle of the night at which Julius had already begun to cultivate in his sleep when the white glowing figure sensed something.

"He's waking up, you better wake up as well," said the white glowing figure as he forced Julius to stop cultivating and wake up from his slumber. When Julius looked at the bed, he realized that Steven was no longer there.

"How was your nap?" Julius asked as he turned to his side where Steven was sitting on the one extra chair that no one had sat on.

"Why are you here?" Steven asked in a deep yet quiet voice so that he wouldn't be heard by anyone.

"I have my reasons. First of all though, do you hate me?" Julius asked straight away.

"Of course I do! Because of you, I've lost the title of ace, I'm even going to get kicked out of the guild which I just returned to after so long," Steven said slightly louder than he should have.

"How is that my fault though? It was your own fault that you're not stronger than some random kid. It was your own fault that you tried to kill me out of jealous. Steven, you don't hate me. You hate yourself," Julius replied.

"N-No. I can't hate myself. I'm amazing, I'm strong and dependable. I'm a kind person and being justice to the world!" Steven argued.

"That's who you used to be. You're no longer that Steven. You're someone else now. As such, I have a place for the new you.. A place where you won't be looked down upon but instead will be seen as a valuable ally," said Julius as he raised his hand for a hand shake as he smiled with an ever so slight sinister grin.